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Top general apologizes for characterizing men as 'biologically wired' to harass

Author of the article:

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Publishing date:

June 17, 2015 • 2 minute read

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In tackling military sexual assault, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Tom Lawson says he is up against ranks of men who are “biologically wired” to victimize colleagues.

“There will be situations and have been situations where, largely, men will see themselves as able to press themselves onto our women members,” Lawson told CBC’s Peter Mansbridge.

When Mansbridge asked the top soldier why military sexual assault was still an issue in 2015, Lawson replied “it would be a trite answer, but it’s because we are biologically wired in a certain way, and there will be those who believe it is a reasonable thing to press themselves and their desires on others.”

Minutes after the snippets from the interview were made public by CBC, Lawson issued an apology for what he called his “awkward characterization” of the issue. “My reference to biological attraction being a factor in sexual misconduct was by no means intended to excuse anyone from responsibility for their actions,” he said in a statement.

In April, retired Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps published a damning report warning of an “underlying sexual culture” in the Canadian Forces, where victims are often unwilling to complain for fear of being demoted or transferred.

For the report, Deschamps interviewed hundreds of full-and part-time military personnel, as well as commanding officers, military police, chaplains, nurses and social workers.

The retired justice highlighted a “hostile sexualized environment” in the military, running the gamut from sexual innuendo to “dubious relationships” between women and their male superiors. Deschamps also highlighted incidents of date rape.

“At the most serious extreme, these reports of sexual violence highlighted the use of sex to enforce power relationships and to punish and ostracize a member of a unit,” she wrote.

Furthermore, she concluded that the problem was so endemic that members both male and female became “generally desensitized” to sexual misconduct as they moved up through the ranks.

Among other recommendations, Deschamps called for the establishment of an “independent centre for accountability for sexual assault and harassment” that would operate outside the jurisdiction of the Canadian Armed Forces.

The report was spurred by a Maclean’s investigation that alleged epidemic levels of sexual assault in the Canadian military. Speaking to a House of Commons committee last year, Lawson said that sexual assault was not part of military culture.

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